Lent

Sermon for Lent 5, 22.03.2026

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Text – Ezekiel 37:4 – “Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!”’”

Let us pray: Lord, sanctify us in the truth; Your Word is Truth. Amen.

In every age, people have asked a simple but important question: Is it worth restoring? Whether it is a broken tool, a worn piece of furniture, or a rusted-out vehicle, the decision to restore something depends on whether it has value, whether sentimental, practical or monetary value.

Throughout history, there has always been a need to repair and restore. In our modern world, however, where mass production and convenience often encourage disposal rather than repair, restoration has taken on new meaning. Increasingly, people are rediscovering the art of bringing old things back to life. Hobbyists and skilled craftsmen alike dedicate hours, and careers, to restoring toys, musical instruments, furniture, machinery, and vehicles. Some pursue full restorations—stripping an item down to its bare structure and rebuilding it completely—while others embrace what is sometimes called a “rustoration,” preserving the marks of age while making the object functional again.

Yet even in this renewed culture of restoration, not everything is restored. Decisions must be made. Time, cost, and effort demand that only certain items are deemed worthy.

Sometimes it is monetary value. Items that are rare, old, or made by a renowned manufacturer are more likely to be restored. Sometimes it is sentimental value—a family heirloom, for instance, which may have little market value but immense personal significance. And often, one of the most decisive factors is the name attached to the item. Who made it? What mark does it bear?

A piece crafted by a master artisan is treated differently from one that is mass-produced. A well-known brand or signature increases perceived worth. The name attached to an object can elevate it from ordinary to extraordinary. This principle helps us understand not only how people approach restoration, but also how God reveals Himself as the ultimate Restorer.

This brings us to the vision given to the prophet Ezekiel—the Valley of Dry Bones. Here we encounter a scene that surpasses all human restoration projects. It is not simply a matter of repairing something worn or broken; it is a picture of complete desolation. Bones lie scattered across a valley—dry and lifeless.

Into this scene, God speaks. He commands Ezekiel to prophesy: “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!” At first glance, this command seems almost absurd. Bones cannot hear. They cannot respond. They cannot live. Yet God’s word is not bound by human limitations. When He speaks, life is created.

This vision is often associated with resurrection, and indeed it points forward to that ultimate reality. However, in its immediate context, it is a picture of restoration. Like the raising of Lazarus, it is not yet the final resurrection of the dead, but a restoration to life within history. It reveals God’s power to bring life where there is none and hope where all hope is lost.

To fully understand this vision, we must look at the broader context of Ezekiel’s message. In the preceding chapter, God explains why Israel has come to such a state. Because of their idolatry and rebellion, they were judged and scattered among the nations. Their exile was not random; it was the consequence of their actions. Moreover, wherever they went, they profaned God’s holy name. The nations looked at them and concluded that their God was unable to protect them.

Yet despite their failure, God makes a remarkable promise. He declares that He will restore them—not for their sake, but for the sake of His holy name. He will gather them from the nations, cleanse them from their impurities, and give them a new heart. He will place His Spirit within them and enable them to live according to His ways.

This is the key to understanding their restoration. It is not based on their worthiness, their obedience, or their condition. In fact, their condition is precisely the opposite—they are like dry bones, utterly lifeless and hopeless. What makes their restoration certain is the name that has been placed upon them. They are God’s people. They bear His name.

In human terms, we might say that they had been relegated to the scrap heap. Their misuse of God’s holy name and their persistent disobedience brought a just judgment to bear. Yet God does not discard them. Instead, He seeks them out.

The imagery of restoration is powerful here. Unlike human restorers, who evaluate objects based on rarity, condition, practical usefulness or potential return on investment, God operates according to a different standard. He looks for what belongs to Him. He seeks His own handiwork. His concern is not whether the object is damaged beyond repair, but whether it bears His mark.

This is what we see in the Valley of Dry Bones. The bones represent the people of Israel in their despair. They themselves confess, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.” It is a picture of complete hopelessness. Yet God does not accept their conclusion. Instead, He acts.

As Ezekiel prophesies, the bones begin to come together. Tendons and flesh appear. Skin covers them. Finally, breath enters them, and they stand as a vast army. This dramatic transformation illustrates the power of God’s word. He does not merely repair; He recreates. He does not improve; He restores to life.

This restoration is not an isolated promise. It is part of a larger narrative within Ezekiel’s prophecy. Earlier, God promises to shepherd His people Himself. He declares that He will seek the lost, bring back the strays, and bind up the injured. Later, He promises that His people will be united under one king. No longer divided into separate kingdoms, they will be one nation under one ruler—His servant David.

These promises point beyond the immediate historical situation to a greater fulfilment. The shepherd who gathers the scattered and the king who reigns over a united people find their ultimate expression in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd and the King of Kings. He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep. He is the eternal King whose kingdom will never end.

For those who belong to Christ, the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones is not merely a story about ancient Israel. It is a picture of what God has done—and continues to do—for His people.

By nature, we too are like dry bones. Apart from God, we are spiritually lifeless. No amount of effort or natural immunity or self-improvement can bring life where there is none. Yet God, in His grace, speaks His word to us. Through that word, He creates faith. Through that word, He gives life.

This restoration is given to us in a tangible way through baptism. As an act of salvation , and even employing restoration language, St Paul calls our baptism ‘the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life’ (Titus 3:5b-7). There, God places His name upon us—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This name is not merely symbolic; it signifies ownership, identity, and belonging. We are marked as God’s own people.

This is our true value. It does not come from our achievements, our status, or our condition. It comes from the fact that we bear God’s name. Just as Israel was restored for the sake of God’s name, so we are restored by His grace.

The apostle Paul expresses this truth clearly when he writes that we are saved by grace through faith. This salvation is not something we achieve; it is a gift. We are described as God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works. In other words, we are the product of God’s restoring work.

This has profound implications for how we live. Restoration is not the end of the story; it is the beginning of a new life. Having been made alive by God’s Spirit, we are called to live in a way that reflects His holiness. Our lives become a testimony to His work as we now seek to sanctify God’s holy name by receiving the Holy Spirit and striving to live in harmony with His word and calling daily upon Him in prayer, praise and thanksgiving.

Just as God restored Israel so that the nations would know that He is the Lord, so He restores us that His name may be honoured through us. We are called to live lives of repentance, continually turning away from sin and returning to God. We are called to let our light shine, not to draw attention to ourselves, but to point others to Him.

The image of restoration also reminds us that God’s work is ongoing. He has begun a good work in us, and He will bring it to completion. The restoration we experience now is a foretaste of something greater—the ultimate restoration of all creation. One day, all that is broken will be made new. Life and happiness will fully and finally triumph over death and lamentation.

In the meantime, we are called and instructed by the Holy Spirit, through His living giving word, to live as those who have been restored, for we bear the name of the Lord in all we do.

The Valley of Dry Bones teaches us that no situation is beyond God’s power. No life is too far gone. No condition is too hopeless. The same God who brought life to dry bones continues to work today, restoring, renewing, and redeeming.

He is the Great Restorer.

And He has claimed us as His own.

And the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon for Lent 2, 01.03.2026

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about – but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness’ (Rom 4:1-3).

Let us pray: Lord, sanctify us in the truth: your Word is Truth. Amen.

The person who lives by Abraham’s (re-)discovery.

In his Letter to the Romans, St Paul is writing to a divided congregation. After having been expelled from Rome by Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54) for 5 years, the Jewish population (Acts 18:2), including those who began to follow “the Way,” (Acts 9:2) had returned to a congregation that had little semblance to what they had known before their expulsion: it was now a congregation full of Gentile Christians; Christians who didn't demand circumcision according to the law, who didn't have dietary restrictions according to the law, who according to the law didn't observe the Sabbath but worshipped on Sunday, the first day of the week, and so on. So Paul responds by Letter with the hope of uniting these two distinct groups in Christ, with the Good News that salvation is a free gift to be received and lived by faith, just as God had planned it from the very beginning. Paul doesn’t introduce anything new. He is at pains to spell out that age-old teaching, a teaching as old as Adam, one that unites all Christians, that being, the central teaching of the Faith – that a person is declared righteous, not by works of the law, but by faith alone in Jesus Christ, ‘for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life’ (2 Cor 3:6), as Paul would say to the Corinthians concerning the night and day distinction between the righteousness of the law and the righteousness that comes by faith.

This faith alone teaching of salvation, a faith that is never alone because it always desires to find a good work to do, was re-discovered time and time again, by those who fill the corridor of the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, and by the prophets and Apostles and by the multiple more recent Church Reformers. Living by faith alone is the hardest thing to believe. It is so easily covered over with “good” intentions of helping God lift us up towards heaven. It’s the hardest thing to believe because it doesn’t come from our initiative or instigation. And it can’t because he who is dead in trespass and sin can’t revive or resurrect himself at all, let alone towards anything good. Rather, it is the gift of the Holy Spirit to believe that there is not a single thing that we could do to make things right again with the Lord, to mend our broken relationship. It’s hard to believe that there isn’t at least some little thing we can contribute to put things right again – do this, observe that, keep this, avoid that etc. Only the Lord can put things right again. All the Old Testament’s commands to “do this, observe that, keep this, avoid that, etc.” pointed to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross; the Lamb who takes our sin away. When Isaac asked his father Abraham, “where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son’” (Gen 22:7b-8).

Putting away any idea that we can and must contribute even a part of a percent of goodness towards our salvation is the daily task of every Christian. In the Old Testament period, the visible or outward act of circumcision signified the invisible or inner circumcision of the heart, that is, the putting off of sin. Jeremiah called the people to repentance and faith saying, Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

circumcise your hearts,

you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire

because of the evil you have done –

burn with no one to quench it. (4:4).

Moses said similarly in Deuteronomy, but with God as the active agent, ‘The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live’ (30:6 see also Deut 10:16). In the New Testament period, the Lord has instituted baptism to achieve the same ends – an outward sign of an inner reality, the putting off of sin. Luther teaches what it means to live baptismally, ‘[Baptism] signifies that the old Adam in us should, by daily sorrow over sin and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts, and, again, a new man daily come forth and arise; who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever. (Source: https://bookofconcord.org/small-catechism/#sc-baptism-%!d(string=006b) )

Striving against sin and injustice and serving our family and neighbours with good things is God-pleasing, but none of that will be credited to us as the righteousness that appeases the wrath of God. Only trust in Jesus’ righteousness, which is pure and holy, will be credited to the believer’s account.

So, as a former Jew who had every reason ‘to put confidence in the flesh… circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless,’ (Philippians 3:4b-6) but now transformed in heart and mind by the grace of Jesus Christ and a member of the New Covenant, Paul sets about writing to those who claim to, ‘rely on the law and boast in God’ (Rom 2:17). He is at pains to tell them that, 28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code’ (Rom 2:28-29).

St Paul continues to build his argument in chapter 3, which, for our purposes, can be boiled down to the truth that, ‘There is no one righteous, not even one’ (3:10) & ‘Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin’ (3:20). Having laid out the fact that a person, whether Jew or Gentile in heritage, stands condemned if they wish to gain God’s approval solely by relying on the law and certain customs, Paul then preaches the righteousness that comes by faith, saying:

‘God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith’ (Rom 3:25a).

Paul then moves from the realities of sin and grace and pivots on Abraham as the preeminent example of faith in God. He could have chosen any one of his faithful ancestors who discovered salvation by faith alone first – Abel, Enoch, Noah, but, as “the father of the faithful” Paul fixes on Abraham to give a flesh and blood example of simple, yet profound trust in God’s promises.

The Lord had called Abraham out of his idolatry (Joshua 24:2), and relative obscurity, and promised him some pretty unbelievable things. Why did God do this? It was because He had His plan of salvation to complete, and He chose Abraham and Sarah as the father and mother of what would become His chosen people: a people who were to be set apart as holy, and to be a light for the Gentiles, so that God’s promised salvation (Gen 3:15) may arrive in Jesus of Nazareth at the appointed time. For what is the place to which St Paul directs his reader? He directs them to the Scriptures.

As we heard in the Old Testament Reading, ‘The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 ‘I will make you into a great nation,’ (Gen 12:1-2a). And then sometime later in Abraham’s life, within a decade or so, we hear, ‘After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

‘Do not be afraid, Abram.
    I am your shield,
    your very great reward.’

2 But Abram said, ‘Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?’ 3 And Abram said, ‘You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.’

4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ 5 He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars – if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’

6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Even though his wife was beyond naturally bearing a child, Abraham trusted God’s promise. Abraham was a model example of taking God at His word.

But this is also what the Pharisees thought, except they had made such an example of Abraham as to come to the false conclusion that he had earned his righteousness, and therefore earned salvation, by doing something – even the something of believing. The Apocryphal books and the rabbinical writings had made that assumption of ascribing to Abraham a righteousness that was earned, rather than by faith. But faith is not a work. Faith is not a deed. Faith is a gift. As St Paul says elsewhere, ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9 not by works, so that no one can boast’ (Eph 2:8).

With example after example St Paul makes it clearer and clearer that justification, that is, the declaration from the Father that Jesus’ righteousness is now also the believer’s righteousness to be received in faith, is not, and has never been based on any human merit and not even on the imparting of virtue, but rather is given freely through the remission of sins.

Abraham, as a Gentile, (after all he was from Ur of the Chaldeans), was first the father to all the Gentiles before he was chosen to be ‘father Abraham’ to Isaac and Jacob and therefore to all Israel’s descendants. Abraham was regarded by the Rabbis as the first proselyte, and therefore the father of proselytes. Abraham himself identified himself this way saying, ‘I am a foreigner and stranger among you’ (Gen 23:4).

So, the Jews who came back into the congregation at Rome could lay no more claim over father Abraham then could the Gentiles claim him as their father. And most importantly, both Jew and Gentile must claim father Abraham’s faith as their own. For circumcision was the sign that confirmed the teaching of justification by faith, for it was always and ever only an outward sign of the inward circumcision of the heart, to which the prophets, like Moses and Jeremiah, call the children of Israel back in recognition of God’s love and election of a people for Himself and for His own glory.

So, as he had to do for the divided congregation at Rome, St Paul teaches us today that Abraham is our father. But he is to be regarded as our father in terms of our following in his footsteps of faith. For ‘What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ And as people of the Reformation, we are each called to live by Abraham’s (re)-discovery, to God’s glory and in service to the neighbour.

And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon for Lent 4, 31.03.2025

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Let us pray: ‘Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry for ever but delight to show mercy’ (Micah 7:18). Therefore humble our hearts to confess our sins freely that we may be overjoyed by the forgiveness of sins spoken by you through your servants and from the hearts and mouths of your children. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A reality check.

The Psalm set for today: Psalm 32; the Psalm we sang together in 10 stanzas was written for the teenage girl who has fallen pregnant out of wedlock and is delaying telling her parents for as long as she can. She fell into temptation and now her mind and body is in turmoil. She knows what she has done. But how can she admit it to anyone... ...to Mum... ...to Dad? She knows, all too well, that she can't cover things over forever. Day-after-day the truth will emerge, as the baby bump starts to show!

The Psalm set for today is written for the husband and father who has just gambled the family nest egg away. In his overconfidence and misplaced trust he fell into temptation and now his world is in turmoil. He doesn't know how to tell his wife what a dire financial crisis he has put the family in. He wants to find the right time to tell her, but that day looms like the blackest of shadows over his soul. How can he tell her what he has done? When will it ever be the "right time?"

Psalm 32 is written for the powerful king who has wondering eyes: wondering eyes that led to adultery, an adulterous relationship that lead to a conspiracy to murder, and a conspiracy to murder that led to the death of an innocent man! He, too, fell into temptation. And he doubled his sins in an attempted cover-up. He remained blinded to his idolatry for a whole year. He became the greatest of fools by fooling himself that he was above the law and beyond suspicion. If anyone did such a thing in his kingdom he would have ordered the offender hung from the gallows and demanded a four-fold restitution be paid to all victims. But the voice of God through the prophet spoke, "You are the man." It was as if a swarm of wasps landed on his ears and stung him severely, drilling deep in his conscience.

Today’s Psalm is also written for the young son of Jesus' parable. He has demanded his share of his father's inheritance, left home for a better world, but had soon squandered it all on decadence and loose living. He had lost everything and things were so bad that his only friends were his fellow swine; the food of which he wished to taste a morsel. He, too, delayed going home to his family to confront his father and glance at his brother and admit his stupidity. He had rehearsed his speech over and over, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants”... ...but would it come out right?

Psalm 32 is written for the teenage girl trying to avoid reality, for the husband and father with a gambling addiction trying to escape his reality, even written for the King of Israel trying to write reality in his own image, and it is written for you and I who are called to see ourselves, in our sin and rebellion from God, as the so-called Prodigal Son, sons and daughters facing a serious reality check!

Psalm 32 is structured is such a way that you can easily remember it. It has a "When," "Then," "Therefore," sequence to it.

Verses 1 and 2 could just as easily be read last:

1Blessed is the one
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
2Blessed is the one
    whose sin the LORD does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.

These first two verses reveal the basis for what follows but could equally conclude the Psalm as a summary of the Blessed state of he whose sins are forgiven. These verses speak of the grace of God, the forgiveness of sins and of the cover provided by Christ. The one who has been forgiven is "Blessed," is "Happy," is even to be considered "Lucky," as in fortunate, for a true treasure or fortune has been placed into their hands.

In the following 5 verses we hear the "When," "Then," "Therefore," sequence. Two verses of "when", one verse of "then" and two verses of "therefore."

He who had a reality check cried:

3 When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
    your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.

Sin and the guilt and shame it produces are weighty things. They have the power to consume. They are draining. David says, although I groaned all day long I kept silent. His conscience kept churning but his pride kept him silent. His bones were wasting away. Luther says, "In him who cannot confess, his bones will age too quickly, and his youthful vigour will be sapped from him as in the heat of summer." When we intentionally cover our sin, it troubles both body and mind. But when we uncover our iniquity by confessing it, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.

In his reality-check, King David continued,

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.

God calls each person to confess their sins in order they hear the words of Absolution. For Confession and Absolution, whether conducted in church, or privately, whether just before God, or privately with a fellow Christian, and even publicly in front of the congregation, is all about the Absolution - the announcement of forgiveness, that what is loosed on earth is really and truly also loosed in heaven. For when we get hung up about our sins, their number or their "magnitude," we become inward focused and forget the treasure of the announcement of forgiveness as from the very mouth of God himself. This comes to us through his Word, through his ordained ministers, and through his children, like you and I. It is God's own promise that, 'If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven' (John 20:23).

David continues:

6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
    while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
    will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Again David calls everyone to draw near to God with a true heart to confess their sins. He says, "Seek him while he may be found, for the days of grace will end upon the earth sooner than you realise."

God's protection envelopes those who come to him in humility. God is the high rock and the hiding place of protection. On his every side, and above and below the songs of deliverance encircle him who puts their hope in the Lord.

Then in verse 8 and 9 we hear of the instruction that Lord God Almighty is the One who will instruct, teach, and counsel those who repent and believe. It is God alone who will lead you from death to life. David writes:

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
    which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
    or they will not come to you.

When the announcement of forgiveness is believed, the fruits of repentance ripen on their own. Then the forgiven person no longer needs to be led this way or that, as if they were an uncontrollable horse that didn't know what next step was the right one to take. They now know exactly what steps to take – steps towards reconciliation with people they have hurt or even been hurt by, steps towards a sacrifice of praise, steps towards costly gifts of grace, steps deeper into the Word of God, steps that build up others, and the like.

David concludes the psalm saying:

10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
    but the LORD’s unfailing love
    surrounds the one who trusts in him.

11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous;
    sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Psalm 32 is written for the teenage girl. In her youth she has fallen to the lusts of the flesh. She knows what she has done. Where can she turn in this time of crisis? The Psalm gives her the voice of instruction saying, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" - and you forgave the guilt of my sin" (Ps 32:5b). Her guilt will be taken away and her body will bring forth new life!

Psalm 32 is written for the husband and father who has gambled the family nest egg and lost it all. In his overconfidence and misplaced trust he has fallen to the lusts of the world. The Psalm gives him the voice of instruction saying, 'I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" - and you forgave the guilt of my sin' (Ps 32:5b). Now he can he tell his wife what he has done? Now is the "right time!"

Psalm 32 is written for the most powerful man in the land. A man fallen: an adulterer and a murderer. The lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the world had taken possession of his soul, and for a whole year he remained blinded to his idolatry, until the day of his reality check, "You are the man."

What could he say to that? He said:

"Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

Hide you face from my sins

and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence

or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation

and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me." (Ps. 51:7-12).

Psalm 32 is written for the young son who sinned by going his own way as much as it is for the older son who would not reconcile with his brother. The younger demanded his inheritance, left home for a supposéd better world, but squandered it all on unholy things. He lost everything except the company of swine. Now that's a reality check! He went back to his father, rehearsing his speech all the way as he went along, "I'm so sorry; let me work it off for you... ...Let me work my way back into the family, into your love, into your good books" (Lk 15:19), but before he could finish his rehearsal for the last time, his father had already run out to meet him, had grasped him in the most affectionate of embraces, had ordered the best robe for him, a ring for his finger, new sandals for his feet and the fattened calf to be slaughtered so that the grandest feast could be enjoyed. And in his delight, the Father was heard saying, "For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found" (Lk 15:24).

Our heavenly Father has the very same to say to anyone who faces up to the serious reality of their sin and rebellion and would humbly turn back for home into his welcoming arms. For our heavenly Father also has the best of gifts and the greatest of joyful banquets to share with all his children.

And the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon for Lent 2 16.03.2025

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”’ (Luke 13:34-35).

You are invited to pray with me… together:

'Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me,
    for in you I take refuge.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
    until the disaster has passed.’ (Psalm 57:1)

The resolve of Jesus

Jesus' own words describe him as being akin to a mother hen who calls her chicks to her side and places her wings over them to protect them when any dangers swirl in the sky above or slither and coil along the ground below. It is well documented that after bushfires it is not uncommon to find dead hens still stationed over their chicks. Even the threat of being burnt by flames and suffocated by heat and smoke, still, the mother hen has the fortitude, the determination, the resoluteness to stay and selflessly cover her chicks so that they can escape the deadly heat and smoke. In the same way, Jesus desires to protect those his Father in heaven has given him, and its incumbent upon those protected by him, to rejoice, saying with the Psalmist, 'How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings' (Psalm 36:7).

And Jesus more than just desires to protect those entrusted into his care. By "suffering many things and being rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, by going to the cross and being killed and after three days rising again," he obediently fulfills the mission his Father in heaven had sent him to fulfill. Jesus is totally obedient to his Father's will. Nothing could or would deter him from his resolve of taking the final journey to Jerusalem, just as the prophets of old did before him. There he would meet the cross on which he would die for the sins of the world. Jesus would meet the same fate as all the previous God-fearing prophets who went to Jerusalem to preach that their Father in heaven desires mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6), that their Father in heaven desires restoration, reconciliation and healing of a relationship marred and ruined by rebellion and sin, and that the Father in heaven will prepare a feast of delights for anyone who accepts the invitation to "Come eat and come drink."

Nothing was going to deter Christ from his journey towards Jerusalem. As St Luke describes towards the end of chapter nine in his Gospel, and in line with the suffering servant in Isaiah, Jesus set his face like 'flint' towards Jerusalem. We heard in the Gospel reading last week from Luke chapter four, that not even the Devil himself could tempt Jesus away from or out of obedience to his Father's will. Jesus' hunger was overcome by his thirst for righteousness. Satan's lure of wordly power was overcome by Christ's mission to serve his Father in heaven - to serve and not to be served. And thirdly, Jesus remained faithful by telling the scripture-misquoting Satan not to put the Lord your God to the test. (Ps 91:11-12 is misquoted).

In today's Gospel Reading, some Pharisees beguiled by the devil, or more strongly put, in Satan's service, add their 'two-cents' worth to try to sway Jesus off his course. They said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you." Some people believe that some good-hearted Pharisees were trying to protect Jesus from the death-threats of Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas is also known as Herod the tetrarch. But as more than one theologian has pointed out, it is much more likely that the Pharisees were not concerned about Jesus’ safety, but rather concerned about his growing influence over the crowds who were coming daily to hear him teach and to be cured of all kinds of illnesses. It's most likely that the Pharisees wanted Jesus out of their territory so that they could reestablish themselves as the number one preachers and teachers, to keep “feathering their own nest,” as the saying goes!

Though Herod recklessly committed himself to the beheading of John the Baptist, there is no evidence that he wanted likewise for Jesus. On the contrary, it was his paranoid and reckless father, Herod the Great, who 30 years earlier ordered all the male babies two years old and under to be killed. On that occasion, and in fulfillment of Scripture (Hos 11:1), the holy family fled to Egypt. Herod Antipas however, wanted to see Jesus. He saw Jesus more as a curiosity, rather than a threat. He wanted to be entertained by Jesus' ability to perform miracles. So the evidence favours the conclusion that the Pharisees were up to their evil schemes in trying to deter Jesus from his God-appointed calling and course.

In the Garden of Gethesame Jesus did pray, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." And even at the "eleventh hour', and in a prayer of heartfelt anguish, nothing was not going to stop the obedient Son from achieving his Father's will. Drinking the cup of suffering to its very dregs was part and parcel of being fully obedient to the Father's will. So, despite his anguish, and his perspiration being like drops of blood falling to the ground, in full obedience, he graciously complied according to his Father's will.

Jesus answers the Pharisees, as one Pastor describes to this effect, "I'll continue doing the work which my Father has given me to do today and tomorrow - until it is finished. No threat to my life is going to stop me. I came to do my Father's will because I love his people. I will not be frightened off, or tempted into, or distracted by a move which will lose them forever."

Jesus' face, which means his attitude and direction, is now set towards Jerusalem. He is set towards his destiny. And his destiny will include rejection from the people he also loves. Jerusalem is the national centre of God's chosen people. It is the centre of the people whom the Lord had brought out of slavery in Egypt. He chose them to be his people and they were to delight to have him as their God. They were the chosen ones; they were his special people. But as the true and obedient Son of God, who is the true Israel, approaches Jerusalem he must weep. He must weep for his people. He knows his rejection will bring about his people's self-destruction. Jesus must weep because not one stone there will be left standing upon another. He must weep because the people are oblivious to what will take place. And he must weep because they are so ignorant of their state of rebellion and their need of salvation.

The Lord their God comes into their midst and the great majority do not recognise him. As he lead them out of bondage in Egypt, so he comes again as Saviour and Redeemer, but they would have no part of it. They rejected him as they had done with all God's prophets who had come to announce the Way out of God's judgment upon a rebellious people.

As Jesus was walking, perhaps even stumbling along the 2000 feet of what would become to be known as the 'Way of the Cross,' the road that connected the Antonia Fortress to Golgotha, there were woman who were mourning and wailing for him. But Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children." Jesus knew the time was shortly coming when 'not one stone would be left upon another' in what was his glorious Jerusalem. Many will greet him as their King when he reaches his destination, but so few will want a King who presents himself as weak and helpless, and fewer still will even acknowledge that their King comes to serve and give his live as a ransom for many.

Knowing the plight of all the prophets who went before him, who carried the Father's message of judgment and salvation, why on earth did Jesus persist in following his Father's will? The reason Jesus wept over Jerusalem was because he knew his message would not be heard and that he would be rejected and killed and that his chosen people would go their own way, a way that lead to self-destruction. As one pastor has said, "Could there be a stronger reason for Jesus to "throw-in-the-towel" and give up? Why should he load himself with their sins? Why should he die on the cross when the people he's doing it for reject him? Why should he go through with it? It was because he loved these rebellious people and he would do anything to save them. Though the people kept saying 'We will not', Jesus kept saying: 'Even so, I will.'

Thank God that nothing could set Jesus off his course, and that he has won salvation for all by staying the way towards Jerusalem. Thank God that through the gifts of repentance and faith we can be the recipients of, and partakers in, this divine rescue plan and rest beneath the protecting wings of Jesus our Lord.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon for Lent 1, 09.03.2025

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

'In him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit' (Ephesians 2:22).

Let us pray: Lord, sanctify us in the truth; your Word is Truth. Amen.

Radical Renovations

A Chinese scholar was given a copy of the New Testament. He had already read the Quran. He had already read the Vedas of the Hindu and all the sacred books.

Later the man said to the scholar, “Did you read the New Testament through?”

He said, “I did.”

Thinking that he would get the reply that Jesus was born of a virgin, that he died and physically rose again from the dead, the man asked, “What’s the most amazing thing you read?”

Instead the scholar replied, “The most awesome thing is in Ephesians 2. It says that in time passed man walked according to the ways of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, and at the end of that same chapter it says that you are the habitation of God.”

He continued saying, “Sir. Does your God live inside of you? If so, that’s the most awesome thing I read. And I’ve read the Quran. I’ve read the Vedas. I’ve read all those on the sacred books. But I’ve never read where a man’s God comes and makes man the habitation of God!”

To the Ephesians the apostle wrote, 'In him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit' (Ephesians 2:22). But this was not a lone and fleeting idea, because to the Corinthians he also wrote, 'Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?' (1 Cor 3:16). And it wasn't just a lone and fleeting idea of Paul's, for Peter must also write, 'As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ' (1 Peter 2:4-5).

So how, out of the heap, did we come to be chipped away at and refashioned and made alive as living stones to fit into the superstructure that is the holy temple of God on earth? How did those who did not have the revelation that was the Rock of Christ, 'those excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world,' come to be included in that which was being built by the Chief-mason?

It came about by the Lord Jesus: he who was thrown into the heap of rubble with us, and for us sinners, for he entered the fallen world as a baby born of a virgin. And in his suffering and death, he was rejected by man and forsaken even by the Father. He was the stone that the builders rejected (Acts 4:11). But through his Resurrection and Ascension he was made the captone and cornerstone upon which the dwelling of God is being built. It came about by he who is the world's peace, he who preached peace to those far and near, to unify those separated; he who knocks down the dividing wall of hostility and makes one new man out of the two (Eph 2:14-18). It came about when, 'you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit...' (Eph 1:13).

In Helen Kromer's 1963 musical satire called 'For Heaven's Sake,' a certain homeowner invites God into his house to do what he thought would be some minor repair work. The homeowner knew he needed a few things done, like, new gutters and a fresh coat of paint. He knew the floor boards were rotten and the plaster was cracked in a few places. The homeowner thought that he could get God to do some modest patch and repair work.

To the homeowner's surprise, God came in and began a major rebuilding of the entire house! The homeowner fumed about the "divine house wrecker" who ripped out rotten beams, tore open picture windows, added new floors, and launched a nonstop rebuilding project that began to turn what was a quiet little Californian Bungalow into a palace fit for a king. The homeowner began to feel as if the house no longer fit his old, small house lifestyle, and finally told God that it felt more like a place where He would live. That's the point at which the punch-line comes in the play. God reveals to the homeowner that the purpose of the renovation was exactly for the purpose of Him moving in and taking up residence in him.

When God begins a work of interior renovation in our small, narrow, self-addicted lives, God has a big idea. God's renovation plan is to build our little lives into a place where He can take up residence and be at home. This 'public works project' of God goes by the name of Baptism: the faith gifted there to the baptised and the daily return to God's promises to which the baptised is to hold on to. Jesus is the divine "Renovator of Souls." In this divine makeover, the rot and cracks we call sin are torn out, and a new structure rises out of the dust and ashes.

The Bible says that God's work of salvation calls for a total reconstruction of our sin-distorted lives so that the living Christ can take up residence in us. Salvation is nothing less than a radical renovation of cosmic proportions. St Paul reminds us that, 'If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come' (2 Cor 5:17). To the Christians in Galatia Paul said it this way, 'I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me' (Gal 2:20).

So, in Jesus, 'you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit' (Ephesians 2:22). However, perhaps, therefore, you will constantly be harassed by a pesky Landlord who still thinks he has some claim to you. This Landlord wants to turf Jesus out of our newly renovated abode. This pesky Landlord wears three hats, 1. our flesh, 2. the world and 3. Satan himself. Everyday we will get a knock at the door and be nagged by this Landlord. He wants nothing more than to see Jesus, who is the "Author of Life," leave us all alone in an empty house. And if this Landlord, who is the "Author of Lies" achieves this end, then he can move in, and perhaps even let your house out to seven other tenets - the kind of tenets nobody wants to live with (see Lk 11:26).

In connection with today’s Gospel Reading we can think of it this way. Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent in the Garden of Eden and fell for it. Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, was tempted in the desert, yet did not fall for it. The fact is that the devil tempts you. But my question for you is “Who is it in you that the devil tempts?” There are only two choices. Is it your old nature, called the old Adam, who is tempted to sin? Or it is the new Adam, called Jesus Christ, who is tempted to sin?

To these questions Dietrich Bonhoeffer said in his posthumous Book “Temptation”: ‘Either the Adam in me is tempted – in which case I fall. Or the Christ is me is tempted – in which case Satan is bound to fall.’

Through faith in him, Jesus Christ dwells in you. You have been given the power of God to make Satan fall. You have a greater power at your disposal than has Satan. As James said, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

One theologian will use the term 'Renovation,' another might use the term 'Reorientation,' yet another 'Redirection.' But I would hope that they can all agree that what they are variously describing is really one thing; that being Repentance. Living the Cross-shaped Life has its foundation in baptism and a daily return to the baptismal promises of God of life and salvation through the forgiveness of sins. Luther says repentance is nothing other than a return to baptism. Repentance consists of true remorse and sorrow over sin and faith in the promises of life and salvation won by Christ Jesus himself, in his life, death and resurrection.

Do you remember Copernicus? He figured out that the sun, not the earth is at the centre of the solar system and that the earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around. His discoveries totally reconstructed everything we thought we knew about the earth and its relationship to the rest of the solar system. It resulted in a total reorientation of the way we think and live on this planet.

Since God has saved us in his Son Jesus, he now calls us to nothing less than a Copernican revolution in the way we think and live - as characterized by the act of repentance. Contrary to our assumptions, and the assumptions of the world, and the desires of Satan, my personal little world is not the centre of the universe. It's not all about me. The universe does not revolve around my self-interest. The most important question in life is not "What's in it for me?" The gospel is not "good advice" or some kind of self-help manual to make life go a little better. Jesus calls us to a radical reorientation in the way we think which will inevitably lead to an equally radical redirection of the way we live, which is achieved through repentance.

Luther wrote, "Our nature... is so deeply curved in on itself that it not only bends the best gifts of God towards itself and enjoys them... but it also fails to realize that it so wickedly, curvedly, and viciously seeks all things, even God, for its own sake."

Do you remember Narcissus. He was so good looking that the god Nemesis cursed him to fall in love with his own reflection. The more Narcissus looked at himself, the smaller he became until there was nothing left but a little white flower. Author, Eugene Peterson said, "Narcissus got smaller and smaller until there was no Narcissus left: he starved to death on a diet of self."

However, Jesus calls his followers to a way of thinking and acting that turns the mind-set of the world inside out. In his letter to the Romans St Paul says, 'Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.' Jesus defined the fundamental irony of the cross-shaped life when he said, 'Those who want to save their life will lost it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it' (Mk 8:35).

Through baptism, Jesus calls His disciples out of the world. Through living the baptismal life, that is, by returning to it each day, disciples of Christ allow God's mind-set to become theirs, as its lived out through daily sorrow over sin and faith in His promises of new life and fresh starts. This is the basic design of a cross-shaped life, and that's exactly what Jesus desires to fashion and build up in you, and in all people, as ' a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit' (Ephesians 2:22).

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Sermon for Ash Wednesday, 05.03.2025

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

‘Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given’ (John 1:16).

Let us pray: Lord, sanctify us in the truth; Your Word is Truth. Amen.

Satisfaction and Surplus.

Now on this first day of Lent, we are taking our first steps down from the Mount of Transfiguration. We have spent a season with Jesus. We followed him up and down the highways and byways of Galilee experiencing the kingdom of God being revealed in parables, in healings, in the overthrow of evil, and in all sorts of signs and wonders, then even in the face of Jesus himself on the mountain. With Peter, we might rather desire to stay up upon the mountain forever, but in this new season of Lent, and considering the repentance it entails, we must follow Jesus as he resolutely turns his face towards Jerusalem. We must tread out the 40-day journey down the mountain, placing our steps in Jesus’ footprints, through the valley of the shadow of death, through the Jordan, that is, the watery grave for sin and death itself, and into life that is an abundant life: a life free to be the people of God.

As we enter this Season, we are called to deny ourselves and take up our cross, daily dying to sin in the sure expectation of rising to new life, for that is our final destination. As we travel down the mountain and continue along the narrow road together, we are the privileged pilgrims who are invited to lift up our hearts and enter into that heavenly conversation with Moses and Elijah and all the saints concerning the Lamb who was slain and raised again. And we shall do so again tonight in the “Holy, holy, holy,” and in the “Lamb of God” hymns of the holy meal.

But what shall we eat along the journey? Who brought the food and the drinks? Who packed an Esky? Knowing full well our daily hunger and thirst, will we get part way through the journey and desperately want to find a seat in the oasis of a patch of green grass, but be left scratching our heads, because all we can muster up is five loaves and two small fish? How far will that get us? If we keep looking at each other for the answer, will we really get anywhere? Will we make it down the mountain, through the valley of the shadow of death, through the Jordan, that is, the watery grave for sin and death itself, and into life that is an abundant life: a life free to be the people of God? If it’s not to each other that we are to look, then to whom shall we go?

But before we even get our next thought together and have our answers at the ready, we hear Jesus say, “Bring them here to me.” It’s such a beautiful and comforting thing that Jesus said in one of those preludes and pointers to the Last Supper. Concerning the five loaves and two fish, he said, 'Bring them here to me’ (Matthew 14:18). And the result of his blessing the meal was satisfaction and surplus for the disciples. For it will always remain true that, ‘Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given’ (John 1:16). So full is the Lord’s hand that we can find in him, grace in satisfaction, followed by grace in surplus. God’s promise in Christ Jesus is, ‘I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint’ (Jeremiah 13:25) and ‘You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows’ (Psalm 23:5). That phrase, “Bring them here to me,” takes away the onus upon you; that you must have all the answers, that you must do all the providing, rather than Jesus being the one that supplies, and supplies in surplus. Rightly understood, it turns effort into ease, not that you get to put your feet up just yet, but rather that you have a journey to make with tasks to pursue in which you have the power of God to use and rely upon.

“But we should fast!” I hear one of you yell from the rear. And yes, you would be right. We have 40 days of opportunity to fast, and to do so, firstly, in a joyful way, and secondly, in a way that benefits our body and soul, not to be seen by men, but by our heavenly Father who sees what is done in secret, and will give reward as he sees fit. But there are Sundays in Lent that are in, but not of, the Season. They are our feast days, our Resurrection Sundays, six of them, each being foretastes of the feast to come that take us to the seventh, Easter Sunday, the greatest feast on earth! That’s where Jesus is leading us, to his death and resurrection, and therefore through our own baptism, to our daily dying and rising to new life.

That’s the journey we must make to get there. It’s the way of the cross. It’s the way of discipleship. It’s the way of fasting before feasting. It’s the way of dying to live. Along the way, you will need strength for the day. We begin the journey tonight with the meal that will strengthen and preserve you. But what will be your everyday grace upon this grace already given? What can you do to expose yourself more to God’s grace already given? How might we, when we are together, and when we are alone, keep that mountain-top conversation going, even as we now descend it? As we heard on Sunday, ‘Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendour, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure (i.e. his exodus), which he was about to bring to fulfilment at Jerusalem’ (Lk 9:30-31).

Attending to daily devotions, daily Bible reading, Bible Study and congregational fellowships and purposeful prayer will keep that conversation going. For that was also the continuing conversation that Peter, John and James had on their journey back down the mountain. Mark’s Gospel informs us that, ‘As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what ‘rising from the dead’ meant’ (Mark 9:9-10). “What does rising from the dead mean for us?” Now there’s a question with an answer that gives us something to talk about! And after all, keeping that conversation going is our duty and delight.

In the name of the crucified and risen Lord of glory, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sermon for Lent 1, 26.02.2023

Grace and peace be to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Then the devil took him [Jesus] to the holy city and set him on the highest point of the temple. 6 ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down. For it is written:

‘“He will command his angels concerning you,

    and they will lift you up in their hands,

    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”’

7 Jesus answered him, ‘It is also written: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test”’ (Matthew 4:5-7).

Let us pray: Lord, sanctify us in the truth: your Word is Truth. Amen.

Satan’s Foot Fetish

“Fetish” 3 definitions – according to dictionary.com and supported by the Encarta World English Dictionary

noun

1.    an object regarded with awe as being the embodiment or habitation of a potent spirit or as having magical potency.

2.    any object, idea, etc., eliciting unquestioning reverence, respect, or devotion e.g. to make a fetish of high grades, or make a fetish of neatness

3.    Psychology/Psychiatry. any object or nongenital part of the body that causes a habitual erotic response or fixation.

Before the development of the disciples of Psychology/Psychiatry, the world only knew of the first two definitions given. So if we leave alone the third and fairly recently developed definition for the medical specialists diagnose and consider the first two much older (i.e. early 17th Century) definitions of the word ‘fetish,’ today I will have you consider: Satan’s Foot Fetish.

Yes, the devil had a foot fetish. He was preoccupied with human feet. Feet had become to him, not just a physical concern, but a spiritual concern. To him who majored in sorcery, human feet came to have some kind of magical mystic, and some kind of world changing potential. Satan must have devoted himself greatly to try to discover the depths of this mystery, to harness what he could of it, to influence it, or control its potential to his sinister benefit. How do we know this? How can I make the claim that Satan had a foot fetish?

In the verses that immediately follow where the Old Testament Reading for today stopped, we hear in Genesis 3:8-15:

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’

10 He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.’

11 And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?’

12 The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’

The woman said, ‘The snake deceived me, and I ate.’

14 So the Lord God said to the snake, ‘Because you have done this,

‘Cursed are you above all livestock

    and all wild animals!

You will crawl on your belly

    and you will eat dust

    all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity

    between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring and hers;

he will crush your head,

    and you will strike his heel.’

The Lord God cursed Satan, the snake, the serpent, and made the declaration, ‘he (i.e. the seed / offspring of Eve) will crush your head,

    and you will strike his heel.’

Not knowing the future as God knew the future, Satan must have spent a lot of time from that moment on in Bible Study, consumed in trying to figure out what on earth was meant by, ‘he will crush your head,

    and you will strike his heel.’

Satan’s foot fetish had begun. From that time on, and for thousands of years since, Satan has worked whole-heartedly on sweeping the seed, the offspring of Adam and Eve, off their feet, but not with love and affection, but by continuing the lies and deception begun back inside the Garden. Ever since, humanity has been falling into Satan’s trap, left, right and centre. Humanity has tripped over itself constantly in selfish pursuits ever since. Humanity has kept telling itself otherwise, but it desperately needs to be lifted up and stood straight again. Over the eons, only a few prophets and a relative few waiting for the consolation of Israel - this Garden promise ultimately fulfilled - ever considered Satan’s preoccupation with feet. Only they, in faith, had the consolation that Satan’s consuming thoughts with human feet, would also be the means of his own downfall, one day. As surely as the Lord lives, ‘he (i.e. the seed / offspring of Eve) will crush your head,

    and you will strike his heel.’

Satan’s foot fetish had begun in the Garden and it continued even out into the wilderness wastelands as we heard in today’s Gospel. The time had come for even the Son of Man, this Second Adam, to take a fall, so it was hoped. The first fell quickly and easily, ‘She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it’ (Gen 3:6b), but would the second be such a “walk over?” For considered from Satan’s limited point of view, what God said to him in the Garden had its positives and negatives. No doubt Satan heard, ‘he will crush your head,’ as a negative thing, as a crushing blow. But, ‘and you will strike his heel,’ would have held out some kind of hope for Satan; as if this promised seed/offspring had what you and I, with our Greek learnings, might call an “Achilles heel” – a weak spot, a point of vulnerability to be exploited, someday, somehow. And so the devil’s scheming continued as he waited for that very day to arrive.

Thus we hear every First Sunday in Lent:

‘Then the devil took him [Jesus] to the holy city and set him on the highest point of the temple’ (Matthew 4:5-7). Had the day arrived for Satan, or was he to expect another? Would he strike it lucky, or would his time be cut-short?

There’s a saying in the sport of basketball, “to break their ankles.” This means that you dribble the ball so fast and skilfully, and deceptively, and change direction so quickly, that the opponent trying to guard you attempts to mirror you, but their momentum keeps going as their shoes grip into the court surface and invariably they go head over heels and fall to the ground.

With similar intent, Satan takes Jesus to the highest point around. He desires to bring an end to his foot fetish and regain the ground he loosing so quickly with coming of the kingdom of God. How can Satan end, maybe not end, but control and dominate, his foot fetish? What could he inflict upon the feet of the One who might, if the demons are right, just be the promised seed/offspring of Eve? Could he somehow test the mystic, or magic, or whatever it was, of the feet of this guy who calls himself the Son of Man. For if Jesus of Nazareth really is the Son of God, and that all Scripture is to be fulfilled in Him, what if Satan can break Jesus’ ankles? How might that reveal to the world that God is the liar and that Satan can really give you all things, if only you bow down to him?

Brothers and sisters in Christ: If you or I jump from a 46m height (151ft) and attempt to land upright, on our feet, what would be the result? Besides many other broken bones and compression injuries, the first bones to be impacted and shattered will be your feet, your heels destroyed. “Lord knows” says Satan, “according to the promise, I will now strike at his feet and see what happens. Watch his flesh bled and bones crumble. Let him try and strike my head now, what’s with left of his heels.”

“Jump Jesus” says Satan. “Jump from here,” he says with a belligerent teaser added – ‘angels ‘will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone”’ (Psalm 91:11-12).

(However, we must note that Psalm 91 speaks of God’s protection from dangers that approach the righteous. The Psalm does not extol testing God to see if he will really do what the Scriptures promise. Not believing the Scriptures himself, Satan would like to see Jesus test God, as did the Hebrews in the desert, when they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” [Exodus 17:7]).

But the liar and deceiver that he is, Satan cannot bring himself to quote Scripture clearly and accurately. He makes it fit his own purpose and design. He omits the continuation of verse 11, ‘For he will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you in all your ways;’ and he stops short of verse 13, ‘You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.’

Satan’s foot fetish would not have him dare say that! He had hoped that the promise repeated in the Scriptures, would come to nothing – not in Christ and certainly not in you who believe. But all Scripture would be fulfilled, especially as it applied to what Satan could not fathom. As a creature, he could not see what God foresaw, that not on this occasion upon the Temple mount, but upon another height, that of Golgotha, that God would make good on the Garden curse on Satan, he (i.e. the seed / offspring of Eve) will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.’

For the strike upon the feet of the Son of God would be with iron nail and hammer as he is hung, by Roman soldiers and at the pleasure of Jewish leaders, on a cross. But this was no Achilles Heel moment. This was no victory strike, for the blow was metered upon the Son of God at the Father’s will, so that the love of God may be shown in the greatest of sacrifices. What Satan could not bear to speak in misquoting Psalm 91, ‘to guard you in all your ways,’ included “the way of the cross – the vocational heights of Jesus of Nazareth.” As St Paul says, ‘…just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous’ (Romans 5:18-19).

Though the heel of Christ Jesus has crushed the serpent’s head, as Jesus died and rose again, Satan’s foot fetish remains. If it were possible, he would still like to sweep you off your feet. So, in Christ, what might you do about that?

Be like Mary and be found sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to him. Let him wash your feet, for he is here to serve you. Read his Word when Satan’s trying to sweep you off your feet and so you know what to pray for. Believe the gifts of baptism – forgiveness of sin, deliverance from death and the devil, and the gift of eternal life.

‘…put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God’ (Ephesians 6:13-17).

And St James says, ‘Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7).

And as Luther wrote:

This world’s prince may still

Scowl fierce as he will,

He can harm us none;

He’s judged, for e’er undone;

One little word can fell him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: ‘The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you’ (Rom 16:20). Amen.

*essential viewing from whence I got inspiration for this Sermon - www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADhO4zefIdE (Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller [LCMS] speaking on the topic – “What of Christ's temptation?”)

Sermon for Lent 5, 26.03.2023

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Text – Ezekiel 37:4 ‘ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, “Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!

Let us pray: Lord, sanctify us in the truth; your Word is Truth. Amen.

Worth restoring?

If we lay aside the recent phenomenon that restoring an old item to its former glory might just drastically reduce its worth, it’s a common question to ask oneself, “Is such-and-such worth restoring?”

There has always been the need to make running repairs to all sorts of our modern contraptions and antique domestic goods. Fixing it, “moding” it, or “doing it up” has been around forever, but against the trend of our modern throw-away society, over the last decade, more and more hobbyist types are developing the knowledge and skill-set to restore all sorts of things, like toys, musical instruments, furniture, tools, electrical appliances, mechanical kitchen appliances, machinery, cars, trucks and boats, military vehicles – the list goes on.

Backyard hobbyists, like you and I, can and probably have, restored some item or heirloom we deemed worthy or necessary of a restoration. We might go “the whole-hog” and have purchased the sandblaster cupboard, the parts-washer, the spray-gun and the tools needed to do what’s called a “bare-metal” restoration. But there’s even a term been coined a “Rustoration.” This in when you get the item back into working condition but preserve the item’s superficial wear-and-tear.

The restoration industry has been around for a while, but lately a whole new YouTube restoration industry has emerged. Some YouTubers post weekly or fortnightly their latest Matchbox or Tonka toy restoration, or their furniture or vehicle restoration or even their house restoration, etc. Some YouTubers get enough income from Patreons and advertising, that filming and posting their restorations becomes their full-time job. Some do it for the money and because they have a talent for it, others do it as collectors and hobbyists wanting to develop their skills and fill their shelves.

Even before our modern throw-away era, back in the day you wouldn’t restore just any old or broken item. It had to be something with some intrinsic worth. It had to be valuable. Value though, is either market driven or driven by sentiment, like a family heirloom or the like. Rarity/Scarcity, low production numbers, prototypes, age, completeness/missing bits, and general collectability are amongst the factors that one considers in whether to restore an item or not, or how far should the restoration go. For many items, its nostalgia that is key. For instance, restoring the nested coffee tables that my Grandad made is my personal example of fixing, updating and putting back into service an item of little monetary value, but one that has an extraordinary sentimental value.

For one of the consistent and other major factors to be considered in doing a restoration and whether it would be “worth-your-while,” is “Who made it.” In other words, “Whose name is on it, what badge does it have?” For the manufacturer’s reputation is also a key factor.

If we think of car restorations, as an example, while there are many valuable 1950’s & 60’s Fords and Holdens that would be worthwhile to restore, we must concede that a Ferrari of the same era would be markedly more “worthwhile.” Or to make the point more stark, “What’s more worthwhile?” – to restore a dilapidated Thomas Chippendale dresser or a dilapidated Ikea dresser? Both hang and hold clothing as good as each other, both are known the world-over, but only one has the name above all others, as it were!

And that leads us to the Ezekiel text – the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. Now there’s a restoration project of mammoth proportions! For the Valley of Dry Bones is a picture of what God can truly do as the Great Restorer; as he reassembles dry bones and knits them back together and breathes his spirit of life into them – this vast army. For we jump too far if we immediately think of this text as a Resurrection scene. It does the vision justice if we receive it only as a restoration text, just like Lazarus was restored to life from his tomb, but would die again and have to wait like everyone else for the General Resurrection of the Dead on the Last Day. But what can be kept in view is that all restoration promises from God point us to the ultimate restoration of Eden restored.

God’s in the restoration business. When we read Ezekiel front to back, we learn this fact. Even if we just turn the Bible page one leaf back into chapter 36 - which we really need to do to understand the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones – we learn that God has judged his chosen people because of their iniquity, that is, their idolatry. He had handed them over to their hearts desires, but because of his mercy and because of his holy name, he promised to restore them in the land he had given them to possess. In Ezekiel 36:19-29 we hear the backdrop to the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones:

I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. 20 And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, “These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.” 21 I had concern for my holy name, which the people of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.

22 ‘Therefore say to the Israelites, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: it is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. 23 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.

24 ‘“For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: Did you hear what the intrinsic worth of God’s people was? What made their future restoration worthwhile was the name put on them, the name they were to keep holy, the very name above all others – the Lord God Almighty. Their iniquity hadn’t moved God to discount them into the ‘Scratch & Dent’ section. Rather, their misuse and abuse of God’s holy name had deemed them fit for the scrap-pile or wrecking yard. For as it says in the Ten Commandments, ‘the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name’ (Exodus 20:7).

But that’s where the Great Restorer is found. He goes into the scrap pile to find his treasure. Rarity/Scarcity, low production numbers, prototypes, age, completeness/missing bits, and general collectability are not in this Restorer’s mind as he searches for what he is looking for. Rather, he has one factor in mind. He is looking for a name, but not just any old name. He is looking for his own handiwork: handiwork that bears his nameplate, his mark, his stamp, his badge, his emblem, his brand, his signature, if you will. No other name will do.

The vision of the Valley of Dry Bones speaks about the nation of Israel. God paints that picture in Ezekiel’s mind for him to prophesy to the people, but it portrayed the truth of Israel’s reality, just as their confession revealed, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off” (Ezekiel 37:11b).

Like bookends buttressing this section of Ezekiel, the reader has already learnt in chapter 34, the prophecy that the Lord himself will be Israel’s Shepherd. Then immediately following the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, another Word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel. Here the promise is made that the restored people of God will come together under the one King. Remembering that Ezekiel lived during the later century of the divided Kingdom, Judah in the south, Israel in the north, this was further good news of restoration. We hear in Ezekiel 37:21-24:

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. 22 I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms. 23 They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images or with any of their offences, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

24 ‘“My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. 

Moses said the same:

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, 2 and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.

God himself will come to shepherd his people and be in the likes of David. This is Jesus Christ of whom it was prophesied, ‘will reign over Jacob’s descendants for ever; his kingdom will never end’ (Luke 1:33).

Brothers and sisters: in Christ Jesus, by grace through faith, we have been restored. Why? Because our intrinsic value is in the name placed on our foreheads and chests at holy baptism, where grace and faith are received.

In the Old Testament, God restored his handiwork so that all the nations around, ‘will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes’ (Ezekiel 36:23b). St Paul says the same applies to all of us restored New Covenant people of God, ‘8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (Ephesians2:8-10).

Jesus has breathed his Spirit into you that you may live the life of repentance and through your daily vocations ‘let your light shine’ (Matthew 5:16) through leading holy lives according to God’s Word. For God’s holy name is upon you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

And the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.